IT has been revealed that Labour ministers have been receiving leaked copies of select committee reports prior to them being made public.

But this kind of thing is not restricted just to Parliament - as similar things have been happening at Hyndburn Council.

An example of this was at a meeting of Hyndburn's ruling Labour group on January 5 when there was an item concerning the failure to obtain lottery funding for the refurbishment of Rhyddings Park, Oswaldtwistle.

Some three weeks later, a copy of the minutes of this meeting was leaked to a Conservative councillor - which was the first that the Conservatives had heard of this setback.

It is rather surprising that a report on further applications for lottery funding was suddenly sent out to councillors just two days before the meeting of the committee concerned, for discussion.

One has to ask if the minutes of Labour group meeting had not been leaked to the Conservative group, would this report have been circulated at such short notice and would the people of Oswaldtwistle still be in the dark as regards to what is going on with their park?

Worth a thought, I think.

JOHN D FARRER, Mallard Place, Oswaldtwistle.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.